2019 GMC Sierra first drive: GM trucks part deux

A few neat tricks separate this truck from the recently launched Silverado

August 27, 2018

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Two weeks ago, we drove the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and wrote about its new frame, body and engines. There are also new towing convenience features that even include an app, which we used by pulling a 6,000-pound trailer around the Wyoming countryside, outside of Jackson. Overall, we liked the truck and respected just how many different ways you could have one equipped.

For us to review GMC’s new full-size pickup in the same way would require us to repeat ourselves quite a lot, as the Sierra receives the same new frame, engines and body. There are differences and Denalis, so that’s the direction we’re headed. Just know that if you’re a GMC loyalist, but prefer something closer to the Silverado work truck, GMC does build that and will happily sell you one.

Aside from different styling and feature packages, there are three things only available on the Sierra you should know about. GMC exclusively offers the MultiPro tailgate, CarbonPro cargo box and adaptive ride control adjustable dampers. The latter two are only available on the Denali; the fancy tailgate requires buying the SLT trim level and above.

You have to credit the folks at Chevrolet for having confidence in their product. The drive of the new Silverado, replete with a new frame, body and powertrains, was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, over a ...

The Execution

It’s weird to look at for the first time. It has a tailgate with no handle, but a fisheye camera and two solenoid activating buttons. The top one opens the tailgate, like, you know, a truck. Pressing the bottom button opens up the top half of the tailgate, which itself has an inner piece that can hinge away an additional 90 degrees. What GMC calls MultiPro is an elaborate system with heavy hinges and lever arms that adds dimensions to the term “tailgating.” The tailgate can now hang in six different configurations, adding length and multiple levels to payload capacity. It’s clever. The only downside is the big question mark of how well it holds up after 20 years of work in the Rust Belt.

GMC's new MultiPro tailgate opens in six ways. It even includes a handle on the driver side of the truck bed to assist in climbing up and down.

Both the carbon-fiber cargo box and the adjustable shocks are only available on the Denali. The former weighs 62 fewer pounds than a standard box and, GMC claims, is incredibly strong and bend resistant. We see no reason to argue. The latter is a system that tightens up the handling when you select the sport setting. Selecting sport also changes the shift points and weights up steering effort. The Silverado has a sport setting as well, but the shocks do not adjust.

A sport setting in a Sierra with adjustable dampers may strike one as odd, but fortunately that’s not the coolest trick here. The Sierra can sense weight in the back; when that equals 500 pounds or more, the dampers tighten way up and improve truck stability. To show the system in action, GMC loaded an 800-pound ATV in the bed and sent me on a drive. Everything feels pretty normal on a smooth road, but even when hitting big bumps, the truck absorbs the shock and immediately settles down, no oscillating in back with the extra weight. Very cool.

Otherwise, just like the Silverado, the Sierra drives with next-level civility that borders on that of a passenger car. The compromise of ride quality and noise, vibration and harshness issues are going away with trucks. Furthermore, seats can be wrapped in soft leather, and real, open-pore wood is part of the interior. The cabin is massive inside, with space for, I would guess, the starting lineup of the Detroit Pistons to drive around in, let alone average-height adults. The single biggest, and worsening, issue with pickups nowadays is parallel parking.

2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 11 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 22 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 33 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 44 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 55 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 66 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 77 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 88 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 99 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 1010 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 1111 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 1212 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

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2019 GMC Sierra AT4 Photo 1313 of 14The off-road suspension setup on the GMC side of the fence is called AT4 but provides the same tires and lifted suspension as the Trail Boss Chevrolet

A couple other features unique to the Sierra in the GM family are a color, 3-by-7-inch head-up display, which I like, and a cool camera-equipped rearview mirror. Drivers can choose to have it on or off; with it on, they get an adjustable brightness and zoom, wide-angle camera view of what’s behind. It’s neat, but not, we would guess, the reason most would choose the Sierra over another truck. Also, GMC calls it AT4, for All Terrain 4, while Chevrolet calls it Trail Boss -- they are effectively the same in-house off-road kit, including different tires and a 2-inch lift of the suspension. That said, the AT4 comes with more luxury content included in the trimline.

Base price starts a couple hundred dollars above the Silverado’s, and the 420-hp, 6.2-liter equipped Denali that was loaded with options that I drove cost over $67,000 -- a couple grand more than the High-Country Silverado Chevrolet offered up in Wyoming. Both are great trucks; the difference between them shows up in details and retail price. If you like gadgets, and have the budget for them, you’ll prefer the GMC.

Robin Warner
- Robin Warner is Managing Editor at Autoweek. He once tried and failed to become a professional race car driver, but succeeded in learning about debt management and having a story to tell. A former engineer, Warner loves cars for their technology and capability.
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